How to fix large dent

[ASJT3]

Hey guys,

I was turning past a post and I turned too tight and clipped the side of my C/K pickup, right by the fuel door. There is a large dent (no paint chip or scraping thankfully) along the panel from the fuel door up to the wheel well. I'm wondering what the best way to fix this dent is? Should I just hammer it out from the inside? Hair dryer and air duster?

Thanks,

Alex

[kahjdh]

If it is through the body line, the crease down the side of the truck, it wont come out. Otherwise I have had luck by taking a suction cup, like for holding up windows, and try to pull it out. You can try hitting it from the backside but use something with a big surface area or even your hand. If it takes alot of force it prob wont pop back out. Try to post a pic.

[danielsatur]

You might also consider a professional Scratchless dent removal.

[ASJT3]

Thanks for the replies guys. Here are the pics. This one's been really upsetting me; I just finished bringing this baby back to life last week



What do you think?

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by ASJT3

Thanks for the replies guys. Here are the pics. This one's been really upsetting me; I just finished bringing this baby back to life last week



What do you think?

That dent is not too bad. It can mostly be massaged out. This is tricky to do, so leave it to a professional paintless dent removal service (as noted above).

There is a franchise called (if I recall correctly) Dent Doctor, who may have someone in your area. . They should be able to improve it a lot. Chances are, the dent will still be slightly visible, but its much cheaper than traditional body shop methods.

I suggest not to attempt fixing it yourself, The metal is slightly creased, so unless you know what you are doing, you can easily make the damage worse.


Try here for more info:

http://doctordoording.com/pricing.html

[ASJT3]

Thanks for the advice! Hate to say it but I don't really think the truck is worth enough to have it done professionally. If I was to do it myself, would using a suction cup give the best results?

Thanks

[kahjdh]

Yea, find the biggest one you can and give it a go. From what i have done with mine it should def look better but the top and the bottom will need body work to fix.

Just do what everybody else with body issues do, buy a bunch of bullet hole stickers.

[Blue Bowtie]

The area that started to crease is going to be a problem. You can get most of the dent pulled by suction cup and/or working behind the panel, but the uppermost crease will require a little more than that. I've had reasonable success with soft tools, like a clean (i.e., brand new) medium durometer rubber mallet and a soft wood block behind the panel as a dolly. The results are never perfect, but it's fairly impressive for a quick massaging out of larger dents. Short of working it with a dolly, spot weld puller, and grind/prime/paint, that's about as good as it will get.

[tblake]

I'd call a local body shop and find out who they use for paintless dent repair. The quote for my alero (beater) to remove all the door dings and things along the whole side was 300.00 which isn't too bad all things considered.

Like stated, where it started to crease a little is going to be a problem.